THE 2 1 - Y E A R PUNCH
Walcott (right) and Charles battled four times in their careers.
THE STUNNING LEFT HOOK THAT WON JERSEY JOE WALCOTT THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP IN HIS FIFTH ATTEMPT IS A TIMELESS REMINDER TO
“And you stood up on your chair and looked at the chaos and confusion in the ring with mixed emotions – a kind of sadness for the old champion and a bursting happiness for the new one.” - Harold V. Cohen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 20, 1951 T he knockout came out of nowhere, quick as a hiccup. The challenger, Jersey Joe Walcott, by now ingrained in the public’s imagination as the kindly old pappy guy, simply stepped forward in Round 7 and threw a left hook at the champion, Ezzard Charles. Walcott had been clipping Charles consistently with that left. Yet this one had something extra on it. If Walcott were a batter hitting fly balls to the warning track all afternoon, he’d finally cleared the center field fence. The irony was that Charles, who had been losing the fight to that point, had started the round with a bit of energy. After some jostling in the opening seconds, Charles threw a wild right and then wrassled Walcott into the ropes. “I’m still here,” he seemed to be saying. As they separated and Charles danced away to center ring, Walcott took eight steps forward. Still trying to assert himself and create momentum, the champion threw a left jab. If the jab had landed, Walcott might’ve covered up or shifted out of range. But it barely grazed Walcott’s right ear, allowing the challenger to move inside and throw his own left in a sort of hook-uppercut motion. “I was about to shoot for his body,” Walcott said later, “but he brought his guard down – so I threw it at the chin.” Charles was leaning in and took
NEVER GIVE UP by Don Stradley
74 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
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